The New Rope String Band On Mountain Stage

The New Rope String Band makes its second appearance on Mountain Stage, recorded live at the Culture Center Theater in Charleston, W.V. Based in the U.K., New Rope first came to the attention of Mountain Stage host Larry Groce by recommendation of Tim O'Brien, when the show traveled to Scotland as part of the 2011 Celtic Connections festival.

An act that must be seen to be fully understood, The New Rope String Band combines tight harmonies and traditional acoustic music from a variety of traditions with elements of the circus, vaudeville, and Monty Python-esque absurdity. During the band's last visit to Mountain Stage, its members used tuned segments of PVC pipe to create sounds you'd sooner expect from an '80s electronic band. This time, they brought a theremin — making this one of the only times such an instrument has appeared on the show.

This Mountain Stage performance was originally published on September 26, 2012.